News

By Uzair Adam Imam

A Nigerian private university, Al-Istiqama University Sumaila (AUSU), Kano, has taken a bold measure to address the lingering issue of drug abuse among youth, particularly its students.

Professor Salisu Shehu, the university’s Vice-Chancellor, disclosed this on Tuesday on his verified Facebook account.

The Vice-Chancellor said the university would not tolerate any form of drug abuse, adding that the move was to ensure “drug-free campuses.”

Reports on the danger of drug abuse by our media outlets recently filled the air following the murder of a Kano mother by her drug-addict son a few days ago.

The Vice-Chancellor further disclosed that the university has made it mandatory for all its students to go through a ‘drug screening exercise’.

In the disclosure he titled ‘Zero Tolerance to Drugs in Al-Istiqama’, Professor Shehu added, “As part of our efforts to ensure drug-free campuses, we have made it mandatory for each and every student, fresh or returning, to go through DRUG SCREENING EXERCISE at the beginning of each session.

“As we have just returned for the 2022/2023 Session, the exercise is currently ongoing, as can be seen in the photos below. ALHAMDULILLAH ALA TAUFIQIHI WAMTINANIHI,” he stated.

The Daily Reality, going through people’s reactions to the post, learned the measure taken by the university is fully supported by the public.

The decision was appreciated, and other universities were also called on to emulate Al-Istiqama to ensure a drug-free environment.

By Muhammad Sabiu

The Magistrate Court in Bauchi has granted bail to the prominent Islamic scholar, Sheikh Idris Abdul’aziz Dutsen Tanshi.
 
The court ruled on Tuesday on the request for bail requested by the lawyers of the cleric after he was arraigned.
 
On Monday, the police brought Sheikh Idris Dutsen Tanshi before the High Magistrate Court, where they charged him with incitement.
 
Dutsen Tanshi, whose lawyers told the court that the crime the cleric is accused of committing will not prevent him from being granted bail, denied all the allegations against him.
 
The judge then set today Tuesday as the day he would rule on their request and he did.
 
Recall that a religious organisation called Fityanul Islam filed a complaint against him, accusing him of uttering bad words against the Prophet Muhammad.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called on the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to reward Governor Nasir El-Rufa’i of Kaduna State with a juicy post for his enormous contribution towards the attainment of Tinubu’s success in the 2023 presidential elections.

MURIC made this passionate plea on behalf of El-Rufa’i in a statement by its Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, on Monday.

Akintola stated that MURIC deemed it germane to remind Tinubu of the need to pay debts owed and appreciate those who made his current status a fait accompli. 

According to him, this is important in order to start sowing the seed of success for the incoming administration as well as to secure a strong foothold for 2027.

He further stated that El-Rufa’i should reap the rewards for standing between those in the corridor of power and their inglorious choices. 

The statement read, “As the days inch closer to the inauguration of the new administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, the Nigerian political spectrum has been inundated with power struggle intrigues and post allocation schemes. 

“This is not new to us since we know that failure is an orphan, but winners are always surrounded by all and sundry.

“However, we deem it germane to remind the President-Elect of the need to pay debts owed and appreciate those who made his current status a fait accompli. This is important in order to start sowing the seed of success for the incoming administration as well as to secure a strong foothold for 2027.

“Gratitude is a major characteristic of a good Muslim. Allah says in the Glorious Qur’an, “If you are grateful, I will increase my favours on you…” (Qur’an 14:7). If the President-Elect shows appreciation to the ‘Noble Dozen’ from the North, he will enjoy more of their solidarity.

“It is noteworthy that the ‘Noble Dozen’ (i.e. the twelve governors who insisted that power must shift to the South) was led by Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State. There is no Nigerian who is unaware of the unique support and unequalled solidarity given by this Northern group to the President-Elect. El-Rufai, in particular, left his palatial office in Kaduna to spend days in Abuja.

“His contribution to our victory, the victory of the Muslim-Muslim ticket, is unquantifiable. He became the mouthpiece of the Muslim-Muslim ticket camp, moving from one media house to another. We must not allow all these to go in vain.

“In particular, we must remember the risk El-Rufai took as he stood between those in the corridor of power and their inglorious choices. We must not forget his bold confrontation of the central bank governor over the latter’s misguided, ill-fated and accursed naira discolouring.  

“It will beat all imaginations and expectations, particularly among Muslims if El-Rufai is not considered for a juicy post in the cabinet of Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We have played national politics the way it should be played. But now is the time to be focused. Choice positions should not be allowed to go to political charlatans, fairweather friends, hypocrites and parasites. El-Rufai is a different cup of tea. He is tested and trusted. He is the icon of Northern dignity.

“To the President-Elect, we have this to say: guard very jealously the good relationship and the alliance between the North and the South West. It is a union steeped in historicity. Compensate the North for its dignity and integrity without being unfair to the rest of the country. 

“We bequeath you the burden of Nigeria. Your road will be rough, no doubt about that, but with prayers and your well-known administrative acumen and political sagacity, Almighty Allah will clear the bumps and roadblocks for you,” the statement added.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

A man identified as Idris Aminu, has allegedly murdered his 75- years- old stepmother in the Okehi Local Government Area of Kogi State.

The incident happened in the afternoon of Monday while the deceased was having her siesta.

According to reports, Aminu clubbed the stepmother, Salamatu Aminu to death with a pestle after failed attempts to poison her.

The accused had accused the deceased of witchcraft and blamed her for his failures in life.

Confirming the incident, the Kogi State Police Public Relations Officer, William Ayah said the suspect has been arrested by the command and will be charged to court as soon as possible.

He further disclosed that the old woman was sleeping when her stepson killed her with a pestle.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has proposed a 20 to 50 years development plan to help address the menacing underdevelopment issue in Nigeria.

Bisi Akande, Pioneer National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), disclosed this on Sunday in a public lecture in Ondo.

Akande, who is also a former governor of Osun State, lamented that the failure of successive governments to have a development plan for critical sectors of the economy is responsible for the country’s underdevelopment.

He stated, “We fail to plan and, yet, we are surprised that we fail in almost all sectors as we are all lapsing into generations of plan-less hypocrites.

“I can assure you that was not what we inherited. In this same country, we used to have five years capital development plans and seven years capital development plans. Now we only plan for the immediate next election.

“We thank God that this time around; Nigerians have elected a leader who has planned for a long time to be our President.

“Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is a well-known person to Baba Fasoranti, and he is also an inheritor of the Awoist legacy of planning and integrity.

“Therefore, it is right and necessary to expect a 20 or 50 years master plan for Nigeria from President Tinubu which would transform this blessed country into a great one,” Akande added.

By Uzair Adam Imam

There was jubilation at the Arewa Data Science Academy on Sunday as their team emerged 2nd place in the just concluded Cohere AI Hackathon, winning a prize of Eight Hundred Dollars + Cohere AI Credit.

One of the team leaders, Dr Shamsuddeen H. Muhammad, relayed the exciting news on his Facebook account on Sunday.

Dr Muhammad added that the Arewa Data Science Team had competed against different teams and demonstrated skills and creativity in machine learning.

He stated, “I am happy to share that the Arewa Data Science team has won the competition at the Cohere AI hackathon and received a prize of 800 dollars and Cohere AI credits!

“Our fellows competed against different teams worldwide and demonstrated their skills and creativity in Machine Learning. Congratulations to the team on this achievement!”

Muhammed further stated that Arewa Data Science Academy is a free training program for Arewa youth who want to learn data science and machine learning.

He added that the academy “provides monthly stipends (N10,000) and free internet data (20GB) to our fellows to help them in their learning activities. 

“If you are interested in joining us, visit our website at: https://arewadatascience.org,” he stated.

By Uzair Adam Imam

A bitter dispute between two neighbours in Kano resulted in a bloodbath when one of the men, Amir Sa’idu, allegedly descended on the other with several stabs.

Sa’idu was said to have stabbed his neighbour, Muktar Abubakar, with a pair of scissors on his forehead.

The Daily Reality gathered that the incident, which happened in Unguwa Uku, Kano, led to Abubakar developing a partial stroke.

Our reporters also learned that a Kano State Sharia Court sitting in Unguwa Uku had remanded Amir for his actions.

The prosecutor, Aliyul Abideen, told the court that the victim developed several illnesses after the incident.

He added that the illness later led to a partial stroke and that he was now receiving treatment in a hospital.

However, the suspect pleaded guilty to the charge.

But the judge, Nura Yusuf Ahmad, ordered the suspect remanded in prison until June 12.

He added that the case would remain pending until the victim’s situation has been reviewed.

–News Desk

The Governing Council of Federal University Birnin Kebbi (FUBK) has appointed Professor Aliyu Abdullahi Turaki as the new Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University.

The appointment was sequel to the recommendation of the Senate and subsequent approval of the Governing Council at its 26th meeting held from 10th to 11th May 2023.

The appointment is for a term of two years at the first instance and takes effect from Thursday, 11th May, 2023.

Prof. Aliyu A. Turaki attended Sabon Garin Rikoto Primary School from 1978 to 1983, where he obtained his Primary School Leaving Certificate. He then proceeded to Government Science College, Birnin Kebbi, where he obtained his Secondary School Certificate in 1990. He obtained B.Sc. and M.Sc. Biochemistry from Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, in 1996 and 2006, respectively.

Prof. A.A. Turaki obtained his PhD in Molecular Biology at the University of Greenwich, United Kingdom in 2014. Between 2007 and 2008, he also obtained Postgraduate Certificate in Food Safety and Certificate in Applied Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) from University of Greenwhich and Royal Institute of Public Health, UK.

The new Deputy Vice-Chancellor comes with over 2 decades of professional experience. He started his teaching career as a Lecturer at the College of Agriculture, Zuru, in 1998. He joined the services of Federal University Birnin Kebbi on 26th May, 2015 as Lecturer I at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, where he rose through ranks to become Professor in 2022.

Prof. Turaki served in various capacities in the University setting. He had been the Director of Academic Planning from 2021 to date; Deputy Dean, Postgraduate School from 2021 to date and Senate Representative on Council from 2021 to date. He also served as Deputy Director, Academic Planning from 2015 to 2021 as well as Head of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from 2018 to 2023.

Prof. Turaki published papers in both local and international journals. He is a member of several professional organizations. He was born on the 5th of October, 1970, in Zuru, Kebbi State. He is married with children.

In another development, the Vice Chancellor, Federal University Birnin Kebbi, Prof. Muhammad Zaiyan Umar, has approved the reappointments of the immediate past Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Kasimu Shehu, as Director, Research and Innovation; Prof. Isa Garba Abor of the Department of Mathematics as Director, Consultancy and Entrepreneurship as well as Prof. Kabiru Jega Umar of the Department of Chemistry as Director, School of Basic Studies.

The appointments take effect from April 27, 2023.

Similarly, the Vice Chancellor approved the appointments of Prof. M.D.A. Bunza (Biological Sciences), as Director, General Studies; Dr. Sirajo M. Bakura (Computer Science) as Deputy Director Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES); Dr. Abubakar Musa Shinkafi (Computer Science) as Deputy Director, Entrepreneurship; Dr. Ahmad Saidu (Nursing Sciences) as Deputy Director, School of Basic Studies and Mal. Yazid Salihu (ICT Directorate) as Deputy Director, Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

Their appointments take effect from 27th April 2023.

The new appointees are charged to bring to bear their wealth of experience in the discharge of their duties and responsibilities.

By Uzair Adam Imam

A joyous celebration of a wedding ceremony in Kano turned into a very traumatic incident as some of the guests died and eight others ended up in hospitals after drinking tea prepared with local leaf, Zakami and unidentified pills.

The incident occurred on the weekend in Sheka, Kumbotso Local Government Area of Kano State.

Alhaji Usman Musa Zakari, the ward head of the area, confirmed the development to journalists on Wednesday.

Zakari said the figures circulating about the number of victims were baseless and unconfirmed, giving the name of the deceased as Mubarak Bala, also known as Diga and Ibrahim Khalil.

According to him, “It is true that the incident happened. It happened when the persons drank a tea prepared with a local leaf called Zakami and a combination of other drugs. Two persons died, and eight others were hospitalised.

“Although there are different versions of the stories being peddled, I delegated persons who went on a fact-finding, and we gathered that only two persons lost their lives. Someone told me four had lost their lives and I asked him to take me to the houses but he later told me that the figure was hearsay.

“Eight other persons were hospitalised after drinking from the tea, but they have all been discharged and going about with their day-to-day activities.”

However, the spokesperson of Kano State Police Command, SP Abdullahi Haruna, said no formal report was made to the police division of the area.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Mark Zuckerberg, the Chief Executive Officer of Meta, has announced that Whatsapp will unveil the first WhatsApp smartwatch later this year.

Zuckerberg disclosed this in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

The smartwatch will enable Whatsapp users to make phone calls and reply to messages.

“Announced at Google I/O that we’re shipping the first WhatsApp smartwatch app on Wear OS later this year. You’ll be able to start new conversations, reply to messages, and take calls on your wrist,” he posted